Energy Concessions

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment offers a variety of concessions and benefits to eligible cardholders. If you have a relevant concession card, you may be eligible for one of these concessions. Your name must be on the energy account with the concession card details, and be for your principal place of residence.

What concessions are there in NSW?

Gas Rebate is applied as a daily amount on your gas bill. To be eligible you must hold either:

• A Pensioner Concession Card from the Department of Human Services (formerly Centrelink) or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; or
• A Health Care Card from the Department of Human Services (formerly Centrelink); or
• Gold Card from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs marked with:
• Totally and Permanently Incapacitated or
• Disability Pension or
• War Widow or War Widower Pension

Your name must be on the gas account for supply of natural gas to your principal place of residence. For more information about the NSW Gas Rebate, please visit www.nsw.gov.au
Low Income Household Rebate is $285 (excluding GST) per annum. This rebate is applied as a daily amount on your electricity bill.
The Medical Energy Rebate
The Medical Energy Rebate helps eligible NSW households cover the costs of their energy bills.
The rebate is for NSW customers who have an inability to self-regulate body temperature when exposed to extreme hot or cold environmental temperatures. To be eligible for the rebate, you’ll need to have a diagnosis that you’re unable to self-regulate your body temperature.
To be eligible, the account holder must hold one of the following concession cards:

• Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
• Centrelink Health Care Card
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card (for recipients of War Widow or War Widower, Totally and Permanently Incapacitated rate or Extreme Disablement Adjustment rate pensions

What you’ll need

• the PDF form – ‘​NSW Medical Energy Rebate Application Form Retail Customers’
• your pensioner concession, health care or gold card details
• your personal and contact details
• your medical practitioner to complete and sign the relevant sections of the form
• your energy account details.

How to apply

1. Check the eligibility requirements.
2. Select the ‘Download PDF form’ button.
3. Complete the form.
4. Ask your medical practitioner (GP or specialist) to complete and sign the relevant sections of the form.
5. Send your completed form directly to your energy retailer.

Family Energy Rebate

The family energy rebate helps low income families pay their energy bills. To be eligible for the NSW Family Energy Rebate, you must:

• Be eligible for the Federal Government’s Family Tax Benefit A or B at any time during the previous financial year, and have received a relevant payment; and
• Be a customer of an electricity retailer, or a long-term resident of a caravan or mobile home park, whose name appears on the electricity account for supply to her/his principal place of residence.

Family Energy Rebate applications are open

Family Energy Rebate (FER) applications are now open for FY 2021/22 and will close at 11pm on 30 June 2022.

• Retail customers can apply at: www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-family-energy-rebate-retail-customers
• On-supply customers can apply at: www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-family-energy-rebate-supply-customers

If you’re eligible for this rebate, you can apply online at www.nsw.gov.au

Life Support Rebate

Eligible South Australians on low or fixed incomes can apply for help with the cost of energy bills for their principal place of residence.
The concession amount is indexed each financial year. For 2021/22, you may be eligible to receive up to $233.60 to cover energy payments, including fuels used to generate energy (eg LPG bottled gas and petrol).

Eligibility

Who should apply

You must:

• live at the property
• have an energy account in your name and be listed first on your energy bill
• hold an eligible concession card or receive an eligible Centrelink payment
• not be living with anyone who has an income of more than $3,000 per year, unless they either:
  • get an allowance from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
  • are your spouse, domestic partner or dependent.

Eligible cards

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Gold Card from the Department of Veteran’ Affairs (DVA Gold Card)
  • Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI)
  • Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA)
  • War Widow
  • Issued to a person with 80 or more overall impairment points under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth)
• Low Income Health Care Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

Email: concessions@sa.gov.au
Phone: ConcessionsSA Hotline (9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday) – 1800 307 758
Or visit https://www.sa.gov.au for more information about South Australian concession eligibility.
To contact Centrelink – call the myGov helpdesk on 13 23 07, select Option 1.

Medical Heating and Cooling Concession

The Medical Heating and Cooling Concession assists South Australians on a fixed or low income who have a clinically verified medical condition which requires the frequent use of heating or cooling in the home to prevent the severe worsening of their condition.

The concession amount is indexed each financial year and is currently $233.60 per year. The concession is available to eligible applicants in addition to the current energy concession.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• live at the address on the application form
• have, or be the parent or legal guardian of, a child who has a qualifying medical condition requiring cooling or heating to prevent severe worsening of their condition
• provide certification from their medical specialist or general practitioner that the medical condition is severely worsened by hot or cold weather
• use an air conditioning unit at that address to meet their medical heating and cooling requirements
• be financially responsible for the full or part payment of the energy bill
• hold an eligible concession card or receive an eligible Centrelink payment.

If you believe you are eligible for this concession, fill in and submit the Medical Heating and Cooling application as directed on the form.

For more information about the Medical Heating and Cooling Concession in South Australia click here.

SA Emergency Electricity Payment Scheme (EEPS)

The Emergency Electricity Payment Scheme (EEPS) is to provide assistance to South Australian households in a financial crisis who are unable to pay their electricity debt.
A payment of up to $400 is provided to low-income households who have been disconnected or are at risk of disconnection.
Applicants are entitled to apply for an emergency electricity payment once every three years after the date of their last EEPS payment.
Applications must be completed with the assistance of a financial counsellor.
For all available SA Financial Counsellors – https://www.safca.org.au/

Queensland pensioners and seniors may be eligible for:

• the Electricity Rebate—$340.85 per year (GST inclusive)
• the Reticulated Natural Gas Rebate—$76.19 per year (GST inclusive).

Eligibility

Holders of a Foster Child Health Care Card and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card are not eligible for the electricity rebate

Rebates are available to people who have any of the below:

• Queensland Seniors Card
• Services Australia or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card
• Services Australia Health Care Card* (Electricity Rebate only)
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card (and receive the War Widow/er Pension or special rate TPI Pension)
• Asylum seeker status—residents will need to provide their ImmiCard details (Electricity Rebate only).

* This includes holders of a Low Income Health Care Card and Ex-Carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card.

To be eligible, you must be the electricity account holder and also live alone or share your principal place of residence with (only) any of the below:

• your spouse
• other people who hold a Services Australia or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card or Queensland Seniors Card
• other people wholly dependent on you
• other people who receive an income support or families payment from Services Australia who do not pay rent
• other people who receive an income support payment from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and who do not pay rent
• other people who live with the cardholder to provide care and assistance, and who do not pay rent.

If you live in a caravan park or multi-unit residential building (e.g. apartment), you must also show that your electricity or reticulated natural gas is paid, based on metered consumption.

How to apply for the rebate

Gas

Contact us on 133 456. You will need to provide certain details, so have copies of your bills and concession card handy so you can verify your eligibility. Rebates are automatically deducted from your bill.

Electricity

Contact us on 133 456. You can apply over the phone or ask us to send you an application form. You will need to provide certain details and have copies of your bills and concession card handy so you can verify your eligibility. Rebates are automatically deducted from your bill.

Or visit the below link for more information about Queensland concession eligibility
https://www.qld.gov.au/community/cost-of-living-support/concessions/energy-concessions

Medical Heating and Cooling Concession

The Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concession Scheme helps with electricity costs for people who have a chronic medical condition, such as multiple sclerosis, autonomic system dysfunction, significant burns or a severe inflammatory skin condition, which is aggravated by changes in temperature.

It currently provides $340.85 (including GST) per year to eligible applicants (eligibility is reviewed every two years).

To be eligible, applicants must:

You must:

• be a Queensland resident and
• have a qualifying medical condition and need cooling or heating to stop your symptoms becoming significantly worse. Qualifying medical conditions include:
  • multiple sclerosis
  • autonomic system dysfunction
  • loss of skin integrity or sweating capacity
  • severe compromise of functioning such as mobility at extremes of environmental temperature
  • hypersensitivity to extremes of environmental temperature leading to increased pain or other discomfort or an increased risk of complications and
• live at your principal place of residence, which has an air-conditioning or heating unit.

The applicant and/or legal guardian of a minor with a qualifying medical condition must:

• hold a current Services Australia or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card or a current Services Australia Health Care Card and
• be financially responsible for paying the electricity bill.

If you are already receiving the electricity rebate or other energy concessions, you can apply for this concession.

Full details of eligibility for the concession including qualifying medical conditions, are listed on the application form. Your medical specialist must fill out the medical certification section.

For more information about the Medical Heating and Cooling Concession in Queensland click here.

Medical Heating and Cooling Concession

The Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme:

• is for Queensland households experiencing problems paying their electricity or reticulated natural gas bills as a result of an unforeseen emergency or a short-term financial crisis
• is one-off emergency assistance to help with paying your home energy bills
• pays up to $720 once every 2 years.

Eligibility

To be eligible you must be responsible for paying the outstanding bill (the bill does not need to be in your name) and meet one of the following:

• hold a current concession card, or
• have an income equal to or less than the Australian Government’s maximum income rate for part-age pensioners; contact Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for details of the maximum income rate
• be part of your energy provider’s hardship program or payment plan.

Full eligibility details, including the types of emergency situations you might get help for, are available from your energy provider’s or participating financial counselling service.

To discuss your eligibility or to apply, call GloBird on 133 456

Further information is available from the Queensland Government website. https://www.qld.gov.au/community/cost-of-living-support/concessions/energy-concessions/home-energy-emergency-assistance-scheme

Qld Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme (HEEAS)

The Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme:

• hold a current concession card, or
• have an income equal to or less than the Australian Government’s maximum income rate for part-age pensioners; contact Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for details of the maximum income rate
• be part of our hardship program or payment plan.

To discuss your eligibility or to apply, call GloBird on 133456.